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Sex Scandal

“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.”Mark Twain

As we are learning from the Penn State scandal, it is apparent that some very good and well respected people made some very poor choices. Caught up in a culture that revers sports and coaches and winning more than a child’s safety, they were served a stunning wake-up call. Observers wonder how someone could ever be aware of such abhorrent behavior and not report it, as if they know they would have done so if it were them. But would they? How many stories do we hear about murders taking place while people watch and no one calls the police? How often do we, any of us, look the other way when we know of wrong doing, simply because it is easier not to respond? Unless we are solidly connected with and well practiced with our moral compass, I do believe any one of us is capable of doing the same. Please understand, I do not absolve them of any wrong doing, I simply call on us all to pay attention to our behaviors and continually ask ourselves, “Am I solidly connected to my Core Values? Do I practice them every day? Do I ever allow myself to make excuses for wrong doing? Do I look the other way and pretend that everything is OK when it isn’t?

Awhile back, I wrote the following six guidelines of development for a client who was struggling with his leadership and team effectiveness. I identified some basic relational and behavioral skills that I felt were important for effective performance and as I re-read them today, I realize that had those who were so deeply caught up in the alleged cover-up of blatant and rampant sexual abuse of young children, been more consciously connected with these performance principles, perhaps they would not have ignored the terrified, helpless child, alone and silently crying in a dark and threatening locker room.

It has been said that you can tell a lot about a society by the way it treats its children. We revere athletes and coaches. They are where the money is. But what does this incident say about us as a people? Some of those accused of being part of a cover-up may have been peak performers on the football field, but in life, I’m afraid they failed miserably, and perhaps, we too, need to do a fierce moral inventory as a society.

Check out the following. It’s time for all of us to be reminded of how important it is to stay awake, alert and conscious and how important peak performance principles are in simple everyday living . . . Do you see how each one relates to the Penn State scandal? What muscles do you need to strengthen to be sure you would act appropriately under the same circumstances?

“Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”Aristotle

1) Open and Truthful:

When people are straightforward and transparent, they build trust. “What you see is what you get.” There are no surprises or hidden agendas. When communication is open, trust is developed, and trust is the cornerstone of relationships.

2) Maintain Perspective:

Those who can step back and see the big picture and not allow themselves to get caught up in the minutia can maintain perspective of what is important and what is a priority. They are able to take their work seriously, but don’t take themselves too seriously. They don’t take things personally. Although they hold themselves with high esteem, they know that the world does not revolve around them. As a result, they can handle crisis and conflict confidently. They are the quiet in the storm. When receiving feedback, they hear the comments as helpful suggestions and observations. They do not feel attacked or become defensive.

3) Keep Agreements:

People who keep their agreements regard their word as their bond. They do what they say they will. They operate with integrity and they realize that there are implied agreements as well as implicit ones and both are equally important. People trust those who keep their word, who do as they promise and who also fulfill their roles as expected.

4) Sensitive and Sincere:

People who work well with others are sensitive to others. They realize their actions affect others and they are attentive to the wants and needs of others. They treat others with respect and are genuine when they communicate praise or caring. They know that the choices they make have a direct impact on the well being of others and they fully recognize the power of their influence.

5) Personal Responsibility and Accountability:

People who have strong relational skills never blame anyone or anything for something that happens to them. They realize that they have choices, and that it is their choices that lead to their results. They realize that life is: only 10% circumstances and 90% their reaction to their circumstances. Therefore, they realize that if change is needed, they don’t wait for someone else to fix it, they fully recognize they are the ones who need to take action. They also accept that making mistakes is part of being human, and they learn from their mistakes and correct themselves, their attitude, beliefs, and behaviors and move forward.

6) They are Solidly Grounded:

People who are solidly grounded are guided by their core values, vision and purpose. This facilitates their ability to make good decisions . They choose win/win solutions, always take the high road of honesty and integrity and they trust the process they are in, knowing that if they follow their highest instincts, they will always do the right thing. They listen to the small voice within and respond accordingly.

Would you have reported the wrong-doing or would you have let your fears of rejection, losing your job, losing face, being judged, standing out, being ridiculed prompt you to look the other way? Would you had the fortitude to follow your Moral Compass? Had those who are now so deeply involved in this scandal asked themselves this a long time ago and had they consistently strengthened their Core Values, perhaps it all would have been different. . .

“The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict.”Martin Luther King, Jr.

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I really like your piece today as it relates to a major current event.

One of my most curious and frustrating situations was when I worked at World Com (affectionately nicknamed “WhirrledCon”) between 2000 and 2002. I was hired when a breathing monkey could get a job paying $16 an hour – at that time, a more than average wage. It was perhaps a year before I saw a lot of people sitting at their cube playing Solitaire on the computer, and I knew that we had peaked in business, at the same time the business turned into realizing the vast number of billing disputes was out of control. We were trained and turned into a department to capture and document all the billing disputes on Excel. Once that was accomplished, the company basically gasped, “HOLY SHIT!” and in a move “designed to provide improved customer service, transferred all the files to OK City and the workers familiar with the info to a new department.

Once in that department, I noticed a large empty office filled with large sacks of mail that were being ignored. About that same time, my mail carrier asked me if ANYONE at WCon even looked at their returned mail, as, “Every month I place an address correction sticker on hundreds of pieces of mail and every month I get the same bills again. The company is paying some $.40 per envelope, and it would seem they would want to correct the addresses so the bills get to the right location.”

When I inquired, the dozen canvas bags, were those returned bills. Even I, realized that if a customer is not receiving their bills, they are
not paying them and I wondered how any mega-company could get so large they could ignore that situation. It all tied in.

I learned the lesson of, “She who asks, gets to fix it” and was authorized by my manager to develop my team to address the addresses issue. From there I learned that my team was not looking to have extra work, especially when it was from a teammate not a manager, and resentment grew.

I believed I was making a difference so when I could I began to organize the project, in the smallest way I knew how – I set up boxes atop the filing cabinets and a handful at a time, alphabetized the envelopes which soon covered the 18 file cabinets and took on a second row.

At one time, my manager’s manager, as what I was doing and why I was not sitting at my desk. I explained the project and he asked if I had permission to be doing this. I explained, and continued to do both duties. My manager said she would speak with him, but he was not taking orders from an underling, and it became a challenge.

However, I often rode up the 3-floor elevator with Jeff Schweikart, the V.P. of the facility and when he asked, as he would do, how things were going, I told him of this project and asked if this was something the company would want done.

He narrowed his eyebrows and said, “Of course.”

The next time my manager’s manager asked me why I was still working the project, I said I had spoken to Jeff and he had given me encouragement to continue. Manager’s manager told me to quit speaking with Jeff.

Stubborn or helpful little bugger that I was, I continued, and in a relatively short time, I returned over $250,000 to the company.
I wish I had thought to take it directly to Jeff’s office, but I did not. I simply sent it to the site where checks were supposed to be sent
and in the meantime, received little gratitude, other than my own manager.

Another lesson I’m told was in the mix was, “Department Managers always want the credit,” and I had stripped D.M. from his accolades.

There is some lesson in here for someone and if you care to explain it to me, I’d love to know as it has never made sense to me.
No one was more thrilled than I when the whistle blower at WorldCom was a woman !!